


Towards Dreams than Nightmares

by DaydreamGlitterbug



Category: Blaseball (Video Game)
Genre: Ghosts?, Multi, Swearing, Wholesome, bad nightmares, chat fic, hey look a ship!
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-16
Updated: 2020-12-16
Packaged: 2021-03-10 18:00:59
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,122
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28101324
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DaydreamGlitterbug/pseuds/DaydreamGlitterbug
Summary: tillyhendy69: Hey, Sutton.tillyhendy69: Suttooooooon.tillyhendy69: Are u up?tillyhendy69: I need to talk to you…lavenderdreamsheep: Yo Tillman, why the fuck are you awake at what…lavenderdreamsheep: 2am Charleston time?tillyhendy69: Nightmares. They’re constant now.lavenderdreamsheep: WAIT. They’re becoming constant now?lavenderdreamsheep: And you hadn’t told me AT ALL?Or Tillman finally decides to ask for help when he can't fix a constant stream of nightmares
Relationships: Gunther O'Brian & Tillman Henderson, Sutton Dreamy & Tillman Henderson, Sutton Dreamy/Jaylen Hotdogfingers, Tillman Henderson/Declan Suzanne, Tillman Henderson/Derrick Krueger
Comments: 1
Kudos: 4





	Towards Dreams than Nightmares

It was the middle of the night in Charleston. Most of the city was asleep with the exception of one resident...one resident who chose to come back from the dead. A sacrifice to save the whole league from the Shelled One’s wrath...it wouldn’t be too bad to come back, right? Well...it was mid-Season 11 now...it was going as well as one would expect with a black hole swallowing games up and a Sun 2 blessing you with more games than you could imagine. But...the nightmares were getting worse. Sure, they started out with the plan going south back during the Season 10 Playoffs, when he first came back. But now they were mostly about the Coin, that beast that floated in the air. The one that offered his mom a contract...to turn the former Crabs into a company on the Immaterial Plane. She loved his mom dearly...so he hated the Coin. Not only that, but She gave a feeling of unease to him and probably to other players. None were as strong as his though. Well...maybe Jaylen’s was as strong as his seeing as she came back from the dead TWICE now. He wondered if she had nightmares this bad, nightmares of your former team being terrified of beings way stronger than them. Being crushed by their might. Maybe they were sending those...a call for help maybe? No, Sutton was still on the plane, she was a Friday now. He didn’t know if any of the other Crabs had that power… Besides those, there were the ones about killing his teammates, Jaylen SURELY had those the first time...probably even now too. Even though he had known them for one season, he was worried that he had a debt...a debt nonexistent. What if he hit Declan with a pitch? What if he caused him to become unstable? What if he was incinerated? He knew it was impossible, but the nightmares said otherwise. And then there were the Coin nightmares, about what would happen if the Coin decided that the league was worthless, if She decided to fight. The horrors of seeing friends from the Hall come back and be controlled as if they were Her puppets. The thought of seeing Derrick and Nora and Combs all mind controlled by Her. Knowing that the only way to stop the madness would be killing Her but somehow not being able to...it was all so horrifying! That’s why Tillman was awake at this ungodly hour of the night: the nightmares were constant now… And tonight they were all horrible and focused on the Coin and Her reign of terror over the league. The horrors she would force upon everyone...they were getting to be too much for Tillman. He needed some way to stop them: some way to return the happy dreams that were interspersed between the nightmares before...during the playoffs and earlier in the season. But who to ask for advice?

***

Surely she’s still awake...I ought to text her about it. So, Tillman grabbed his phone and pulled up his messages. Goodness, how long had it been since the last time they talked? It had been awhile. They didn’t talk at all this season...they talked after the election that called for her to remain on the Plane, but not since. Well, now is as good a time as any, right?

\----Sweet Sweet Dreamy----

tillyhendy69: Hey, Sutton.

tillyhendy69: Suttooooooon.

tillyhendy69: Are u up?

tillyhendy69: I need to talk to you…

lavenderdreamsheep: Yo Tillman, why the fuck are you awake at what…

lavenderdreamsheep: 2am Charleston time?

tillyhendy69: Nightmares. They’re constant now.

lavenderdreamsheep: WAIT. They’re becoming constant now?

lavenderdreamsheep: And you hadn’t told me AT ALL?

tillyhendy69: This is the first night this has actually happened to affect me.

tillyhendy69: Last time we met, I still had good dreams. Now, they’re gone.

tillyhendy69: Sure I had constant nightmares the last few nights, but…

tillyhendy69: This is the first night it’s affecting me this badly to wake up.

tillyhendy69: And not go back to sleep because I know they’ll continue.

lavenderdreamsheep: Shit Tillman. That’s actually horrible.

lavenderdreamsheep: When Jay first came back, she told me to stay in Baltimore

lavenderdreamsheep: But when the nightmares and hauntings became worse for her…

lavenderdreamsheep: I knew I had to be with her. To help her try to get back to normal.

lavenderdreamsheep: Whatever that looked like for her at the time.

lavenderdreamsheep: So I stayed with her, helped her move during season 9.

tillyhendy69: Was commuting between Baltimore and Seattle a bitch?

lavenderdreamsheep: Hell yeah it was. It was WAY easier when she was in Philly.

lavenderdreamsheep: But Seattle, Halifax, and Charleston? The commute was horrible.

lavenderdreamsheep: But damn it, it was worth it.

lavenderdreamsheep: I told her when she fell that there was no way in hell I’d do it.

lavenderdreamsheep: Besides, she got sent to the Lovers, she’d be fine.

lavenderdreamsheep: But I’m imagining the commute between here and San Fran…

lavenderdreamsheep: It’d be my worst commute yet if I stayed with her now.

tillyhendy69: She’s got Percival to keep her company now. :P

lavenderdreamsheep: Yeah. Pretty much.

tillyhendy69: Declan was good about getting me back on my feet when I came back

tillyhendy69: But we agreed early on that it was a temporary thing…

tillyhendy69: Only for the postseason, only to get myself readjusted.

tillyhendy69: It’d be hard for him to commute after all, he’s a Firefighter.

tillyhendy69: He has a second job saving lives.

lavenderdreamsheep: So you can’t get Dec to come comfort you…

lavenderdreamsheep: What about your teammates?

tillyhendy69: Don’t wanna wake them up. Stu likes her sleep and Gunther…

tillyhendy69: They help when I babysit them. And I’m not his sitter tonight.

lavenderdreamsheep: Fair. Where IS your apartment again? I know you told me but…

tillyhendy69: I got a good deal on Jay’s old apartment...technically yours too.

lavenderdreamsheep: I know I setup protective wards to ward off against Jay’s

lavenderdreamsheep: BUT they don’t work on yours, huh?

tillyhendy69: Fuck no. Hell, did you ever consider I’d come back?

lavenderdreamsheep: Hell no dude. Sure, Nora came and told me that

lavenderdreamsheep: There was a CHANCE you’d be the one coming back

lavenderdreamsheep: But she was there namely to comfort me because I was

lavenderdreamsheep: About to lose my girlfriend for a second time…

tillyhendy69: Wait, you can see ghosts?

lavenderdreamsheep: Yeah I can. I saw you that one time you snuck into Loser’s place.

tillyhendy69: FUCK.

tillyhendy69: Did you tell him that I swapped the peppermint sticks with lemon candy?

lavenderdreamsheep: Hahahaha, fuck no.

tillyhendy69: GOOD.

tillyhendy69: Also, yeah, that’s something Nor would do.

tillyhendy69: Being a reaper when she was alive helped her out a lot.

lavenderdreamsheep: Yeah, it really did.

lavenderdreamsheep: Anyways, she didn’t mention much about you coming back.

lavenderdreamsheep: Only that you volunteered and that if it all worked out, you’d be

lavenderdreamsheep: Taking Jay’s place.

tillyhendy69: That’s Nora for ya, focused on her job mainly and not bothering with deets.

lavenderdreamsheep: Yeah...if only she had confirmed it for me, then I probably

lavenderdreamsheep: Would have actually BOTHERED to update the wards for ya

lavenderdreamsheep: Then again...I dunno if they’d have worked even if I did it.

tillyhendy69: Yeah…

lavenderdreamsheep: Any plushies near you that you cuddle with?

tillyhendy69: Yeah.

tillyhendy69: They don’t help AT ALL

lavenderdreamsheep: Well go to the-WAIT WHAT

lavenderdreamsheep: YOU HAVE PLUSHIES?!?

tillyhendy69: Yeah. I sleep with them every night. Helpful when Dec isn’t around

tillyhendy69: And I need something to cuddle.

tillyhendy69: Or when Gunther doesn’t wanna cuddle when they’re over.

lavenderdreamsheep: Oh my god, that’s something I never expected to hear from YOU

lavenderdreamsheep: You owning plushies is the most unTillman thing ever.

tillyhendy69: Shut up. It’s a damn image thing, you know me.

lavenderdreamsheep: Oh I know...did you have them before all this happened?

tillyhendy69: You mean when I was still a Crab? Yeah…

tillyhendy69: You know how hard it is to hide a giant crab plushie, Sutton?

lavenderdreamsheep: Hahahahahahaha...yeah, I think I saw that crab.

lavenderdreamsheep: Didn’t realize it was YOUR crab plushie.

lavenderdreamsheep: Thought it was Loser’s.

tillyhendy69: To be fair, he does actually own one of those.

tillyhendy69: And a LOT of other plushies.

lavenderdreamsheep: I know. I’ve seen them.

lavenderdreamsheep: Anyways…

lavenderdreamsheep: My next suggestion is gonna sound weird…

lavenderdreamsheep: But I distinctly remember Jay having this ability

lavenderdreamsheep: Can you feel ghosts?

tillyhendy69: What do you mean?

lavenderdreamsheep: Not their presence but physically, can you touch ghosts?

tillyhendy69: Yeah. They can feel it too.

lavenderdreamsheep: Well damn, that’s a common thread for you two.

tillyhendy69: I know and I hate the comparisons to Jaylen all the time.

tillyhendy69: Some of my nightmares relate to her debt actually…

tillyhendy69: Like what if I have debt too?

lavenderdreamsheep: Tillman, honeybunch...have you beaned a player?

tillyhendy69: No.

lavenderdreamsheep: Then you do not have a debt.

lavenderdreamsheep: After all, you volunteered to come back.

tillyhendy69: Yeah...you’re right about that.

lavenderdreamsheep: What are your other nightmares about, btw?

tillyhendy69: Some are about the Crabs and how they’re getting stomped

lavenderdreamsheep: The ones that sound like a cry for help more than anything?

tillyhendy69: Yeah, you get those too?

lavenderdreamsheep: Occasionally, yeah. Every former Crab has gotten them.

lavenderdreamsheep: You’re legit the last one to tell me that you get them.

tillyhendy69: Ok, I was wondering if they were somehow related to me returning

lavenderdreamsheep: Nope. What about your other nightmares?

tillyhendy69: Ok, so you know the Coin right?

lavenderdreamsheep: Equity, right? Is that her name?

tillyhendy69: Yeah, that’s her name.

tillyhendy69: They all relate to her getting tired of us.

tillyhendy69: Tired of the league.

tillyhendy69: And she decides to fight us…

tillyhendy69: And she calls for those in the Hall to fight for her…

tillyhendy69: And all my friends from the Hall come back but are brainwashed.

tillyhendy69: And I can’t snap them out of it, I have to fight...and I can’t.

tillyhendy69: It’s hopeless.

lavenderdreamsheep: Oh god, Tillman. Those sound HORRIBLE

tillyhendy69: They are...especially seeing your own mother being babied by Equity.

lavenderdreamsheep: Ew...that sounds disgusting.

tillyhendy69: IT IS VERY DISGUSTING. And I didn’t even LIKE my mom beforehand.

tillyhendy69: But seeing her in the nightmares makes me DESPISE her.

tillyhendy69: And Equity...she says that she’ll bring fairness to the league but I can

tillyhendy69: Smell bullshit when I hear it.

lavenderdreamsheep: Smell bullshit? Isn’t the phrase “tell bullshit”?

tillyhendy69: I haven’t gotten the best sleep here.

tillyhendy69: Cut me some slack, ok?

lavenderdreamsheep: I know…

lavenderdreamsheep: I have ideas on how to get you back to having less nightmares

lavenderdreamsheep: But it won’t be tonight…

lavenderdreamsheep: But it’ll be in a few days…

tillyhendy69: When I see you again, then?

lavenderdreamsheep: Yeah. When the Thieves play the Fridays.

lavenderdreamsheep: For now, my suggestion is…

lavenderdreamsheep: Seeing if someone from the Hall can come over and comfort u.

tillyhendy69: Sounds like a plan. Thank you so much, Sutton.

lavenderdreamsheep: Anytime, Tillman...see you soon!

****

With that, Tillman swapped phones from his usual phone to his Hall Phone. It was truly a miracle that it still worked and that the Monitor had the audacity to revive him with it. However, that was how Jaylen was revived and Tillman was to get the same treatment in regards to keeping the Hall Phone. He used it a lot, namely to keep in contact with those left in the Hall and those who were released (with the exception of Axel: he could still use his own phone for that). He opened the messages and yup, just as he thought. Derrick was right on top. He opened the conversation up…

\----Ghost Bae <3 <3 <3 <3 <3----

pogclamp420: Babe…

sleepyjazz: What’s up, Tilly? Can’t sleep?

pogclamp420: Yeah...lots of nightmares…

pogclamp420: This is the first night where it’s been SO terribly shit that I had to text

pogclamp420: Sutton Dreamy about it.

sleepyjazz: She getting to work on solutions for ya?

pogclamp420: Yeah. Won’t get them for 2 days tho.

sleepyjazz: It makes sense tho...she IS still a player on the Fridays after all.

sleepyjazz: Do you need me to come over and help you get back to sleep?

pogclamp420: Yeah.

sleepyjazz: OMW

Instantly, Derrick appeared in Tillman’s apartment.

“That was fast.”

“Babe, I was already considering sneaking into your bed tonight so…”

“Why am I not surprised.”

Derrick chuckled, “Well, I wasn’t expecting you to text me in the middle of the night either.”

“Fair enough.”

“So, what nightmares are you having?”

“Well…” and Tillman described his nightmares in detail to Derrick.

“Dude, why didn’t you say something about this earlier?”

“To be honest, old habits die hard.”

Derrick chuckled, “At the very least, you’re better about it than when you FIRST arrived in the Hall.”

“Yeah, if I hadn’t changed upon dying, I would probably have not messaged anyone about these nightmares. Though my sleep would have been so wack that Corn would have noticed and got me help...but I would never admit in a million years I needed it. That’s how I was.”

“Yeah and you’ve grown a lot since then, babe.”

Tillman nodded, “Yeah, I have...anyways...I think I should try and go back to sleep.”

“Want me to help?”

“Yes.”

So...the two laid down in Tillman’s bed...one alive and one a ghost and cuddled. They cuddled for hours until the sun woke both of them up. It was a new day, the second game of a series against the Yellowstone Magic and while Tillman wasn’t pitching that game, he wanted to be there anyway to support the team.

“Oh, I have to go, you know the rules, Tilly.”

“Yeah...I do. If you’re free this afternoon you are always welcome to come watch.”

Derrick chuckled, “You know I watch the games you pitch, right?”

“Yeah, I do…”

Derrick leaned over and kissed Tillman on the cheek.

“Love you!”

“Love you too!”

Just like that, Derrick was gone...as expected for a ghost.

****

It was two days later. The Shoe Thieves were in Hawaii for the start of a three game series against the Fridays. The Thieves were expected to win the series after all, they were pretty good and the Fridays were usually laughably bad...despite getting three former Crabs. But Tillman was pretty excited for other reasons, namely what was going to happen after the game. Seeing Sutton Dreamy play again was one thing, having her give you a solution to your constant nightmares was another. The game occurred and Gunther was pitching. As usual while in Hawaii, someone had to give Gunther some ice cubes while on the mound so they didn’t overheat. The other pitchers drew straws and the straws determined that Tillman was the one putting the little ice cubes on the mound surrounding the adorable penguin pitcher. So, the entirety of the 10 innings that Gunther pitched, Tillman had to run out (with the ump’s permission) and put ice cubes around Gunther. Not that it helped the Thieves win or anything, but it helped Gunther out tremendously on the mound...no fan or player or ump wants to imagine what would happen if Gunther passed out on the mound. They already had experienced a pitcher passing out once and that was Tillman in the postseason last season. No one wanted to face that possibility again. At the cookout, Dreamy flagged down Tillman, who was trying to not draw...too much attention to himself.

“Hey Tillman.”

“Oh, hey Dreamy. You played well today.”

“So did you, giving Gunther their little ice cubes.”

“Someone has to do it, just fell on me today.”

Sutton let out a light chuckle, “Of course. Don’t wanna see another pitcher faint.”

“Hey...it was just once ok? I was a little overwhelmed by the curses, ya know?”

“Yeah, I getcha. Anyways, I’m sending you the location of my house, stop by and I’ll give ya the goods. I didn’t bring them to the game because well, I don’t wanna disrupt the vibes of the field.”

“Yeah, I understand.”

Tillman checked his phone and sure enough, she had sent him directions to her house.

****

It was after the cookout and Tillman had arrived at Dreamy’s house. It was on stilts and it was a picturesque little cottage. The windows were decorated with violet and indigo curtain sheers that hung from the top and pulled back enough to make the window look like a portal into the dream world. The cottage itself was painted a lavender color with some little crabs painted close to the door. The porch had some white rocking chairs with a little white table in between them. On the table were some empty cocktail glasses and some citrine candles. The door that Tillman knocked on was painted a dark indigo color to differentiate it from the house proper.

Sutton opened the door, “Tillman, welcome to Lavender Dreams! Come on in!”

Tillman entered, remembering that Dreamy promised that if she got a house some day, that she would name it something ridiculous so that people remembered her house. The interior of the house was nice and open, something one would expect from a house in Hawaii. The living room was filled with lots of pillows and cushions. There was a bowl on the table with items that glittered in the late afternoon sun. Tillman sat down on a couch and could almost fall asleep and take a late afternoon nap, but that wasn’t necessary. After all, Sutton had something important to give him, right? She did indeed, she pulled out a box that was intricately carved. It was colored like a deep purple and dotted with little lavender constellations including a certain constellation that was Tillman’s favorite: a crab holding a gun lovingly named Mr. Fuck.

“What’s the box for?”

“It’s a starry box. Keep it in your room, it basically is a portable ward that will keep away the bad dreams.”

“How long did this take you to make?”

“Oh, just a half Friday afternoon to carve it, an eighth of a Friday afternoon to paint the dark purple, a quarter Friday afternoon for that to dry, another eighth of a Friday afternoon to paint the constellations, and then a single Friday afternoon to properly get it ready to ward off nightmares. Or in simple terms, a day for the box and a day for setting it up for its purpose.”

“Wow Sutton...thank you.”

“You’re welcome. I hope it helps.”

“Yeah, it should.”

With that, Tillman left for the mainland and towards nights of actually getting sleep rather than having nightmares.

**Author's Note:**

> I actually do have an actual getting together fic for Tillman and Derrick in the pipeline but I really wanted to write this out first when the idea hit me. Didn't intend to be the first one but whatever. 
> 
> I'm hanging around a lot of places on Discord, so if you see me, say hi!


End file.
